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Country  Friends. 


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//AJC6CAJ  b^”\ 
.New  York,  June  20,  1862. 


To  the  Constituents  of  the  37th  Congress,  now 

ASSEMBLED  IN  WASHINGTON - 


My  dear  Friends  : — 

In  common  with  the  rest  of  mankind,  I  am  natu¬ 
rally  anxious  about  the  human  race,  and  especially 
ourselves ;  for  that  reason  I  have  for  some  time  con¬ 
templated  addressing  you  upon  general  matters,  but 
more  especially  upon  our  duties  as  constituents  to  our 
representatives  in  congress  assembled,  and  which  I 
now  reluctantly  do,  and  upon  conviction  that  it  is 
necessary  for  the  benefit  of  all,  that  there  should  be 
a  more  definite  understanding  between  the  represented 
and  representors.  From  the  time  of  the  assembling 
of  this  37tli  Congress  in  December  last,  you  cannot 
have  overlooked  with  what  care  and  attention  certain 
interests  have  been  looked  after,  and,  in  many  sections 
of  the  country,  the  amiable  deportment  and  kind  atten¬ 
tion  of  members  must  have  carried  joy  to  many  a 
patriotic  expectant.  The  war,  now  unfortunately  de- 


t 


V- 


Q 


vastating  our  country,  lias  added  many  burdens  to 
our  already  overweighted  representatives ;  when  we 
consider  the  many  Brigadiers  and  Sutlers  that  were 
to  be  appointed,  and  the  difficulty  of  placing  contracts 
in  such  a  way  as  to  yield  to  the  contractors  the  larg¬ 
est  returns ;  the  endeavors,  of  individual  members,  to 
blacken  each  other’s  reputations,  have  not  been  with- 
out  their  adequate  returns,  and  the  quiet  shelving  of 
reports,  censuring  men  in  office,  picturesquely  contrasts 
with  the  well-merited  brand  of  infamy  with  which 
those  who  have  lost  official  position  have  been  visited. 
The  establishment  of  Free  Academies,  in  South  Caro¬ 
lina,  to  develop  the  superior  intelligence  of  our  hither¬ 
to  oppressed  sable  brethren,  and  the  endeavors  on 
the  other  hand,  of  the  representative  of  federal  power 
in  North  Carolina,  to  check  the  too  rapid  development 
of  negro  superiority,  alike  give  rise  to  many  additional 
anxieties  to  which  our  representatives  are  subjected. 
The  emancipation  of  the  negro  one  day  and  the  re¬ 
turning  him  to  bondage  another,  and  in  fact  the 
general  care  of  that  most  important  of  all  men,  the 
“  black  man”  leaves  but  little  time  unemployed  upon 
the  hands  of  our  representatives ;  and  of  course  and 
doubtless,  innocently  enough,  interests  that  many 
consider  important  are  overlooked.  In  view  of  this 
state  of  affairs,  I  for  one  have  to  record  my  most 


3  3  £.73 

5- 


3 


i 


■  t  j  c  j6W 


A 


V 


hearty  thanks  that  some  of  our  heads  of  departments 
have,  within  their  own  families  and  among  their  pri¬ 
vate  friends,  controlled  the  talent  and  peculiar  fitness 
for  the  carrying  on  of  their  respective  departments  ; 
thus  leaving  to  “  congress  men  ”  their  valuable  time 
for  maturing  plans  for  the  full  development  of  their 
much  admired  and  more  beloved  “  Congo  men.”  Let 
it  for  a  moment  be  borne  in  mind  wliat  would  have 
been  the  position  of  that  branch  of  the  service  if  (gui¬ 
ded  alone  by  congressional  authority)  the  Secretary 
had  not  fortunately  discovered  that,  to  purchase  a  cer 
tain  description  of  property,  it  was  first  essentially  ne¬ 
cessary  not  to  have  had  the  contamination  of  previous 

« 

knowledge  of  the  business ;  see  with  what  cleverness 
technicalities,  which  sometimes  retard  business,  may  be 
overcome  ;  as  for  instance  a  man  who  has  al  ways  been 
upon  the  water  looks  with  anxiety  to  the  discovery  of 
“  dry  rot  ”  in  his  ship,  whereas,  to  one  of  a  less  saline 
experience,  the  presence  of  this  peculiarity  is  the  evi¬ 
dence  of  what  is  most  desired,  a  “  dry  ship,”  (as  how 
could  it  be  possible  for  a  vessel  to  rot  dry  that  was 
not  dry,)  thus  avoiding  the  infection  of  our  troops 
with  rheumatic  pains  and  such  other  ills  as  might  be 
engendered  by  vessels  not  having  such  evidence  of 
peculiar  fitness  for  their  transportation.  Then  again, 
with  what  grateful  remembrance  should  we  hold  those 

o 


4 


X 

devoted  men  avIio,  abandoned  their  regular  avocations, 
rushed  from  their  literary  pleasures  and  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  our  then  War  Secretary,  their  best  services  ; 
and,  to  ensure  that  a  grateful  country  should  not  even 
have  the  chance  to  make  a  proper  amend  for  such 
herculean  services,  the  very  evidences  of  their  labors 
are  not  forthcoming,  as  doubtless  such  modest  merit 
will  not  consent  that  the  country  be  made  aware  of 
the  debt  of  gratitude  that  is  due  to  these  deserving 

o  O 

individuals. 

Those  gentlemen  of  the  Press,  to  whom  our  Avar  de¬ 
partment  it  seems  are  most  indebted  for  not  only 
creating  the  war  but  carrying  it  on,  are  and  have  been 
most  assidtious  in  their  endeaA^ours  to  conduct  it  ac- 
cording  to  their  own  views,  though  at  no  time  has  it 
been  discovered,  I  believe,  notwithstanding  the  dif¬ 
ferences  of  opinion  as  to  the  conduct  of  the  war,  but 
that  some  enlightened  member  of  the  press  could  op¬ 
portunely  suggest  where  a  contract  might  be  appro¬ 
priately  placed.  These  little  episodes,  as  episodes  they 
are,  compared  Avith  the  real  object  of  my  addressing  you 
at  this  moment,  will  at  least  serve  to  show  you  Iioav 
well  your  interests  are  looked  after  and  if,  by  chance 
through  overcrowding  cares,  your  representative  fail 
to  meet  your  expectation,  a  special  providence  or  I 
should  say  a  special  correspondent  or  an  editorial  con- 


0 


A  ; 

V 


tributor  is  near  at  band  to  supply  tbe  deficiency 
caused  by  tbe  congressional  delinquency.  Under  any 
circumstances,  my  dear  friends,  you  will  see  tbe  coun¬ 
try  is  in  no  jeopardy,  in  fact,  it  may  be  considered 
positively  safe,  provided  you  in  tbe  mean  time  give 
your  attention  to  some  little  matters  tliat  seem  to 
bave  escaped  tbe  attention  of  your  representatives. 
Among  these  little  matters  tliat  appear  to  me  as  in¬ 
teresting  to  us  and  wliicli  appear  to  bave  escaped  tbe 
serious  attention  of  our  representatives,  I  may  men¬ 
tion  Finance,  Tariff,  Taxes,  in  themselves  liitlierto  un-, 
important  branches  of  our  government  but  now  be¬ 
coming  more  prominent  on  account  of  tbe  large 
expenditure  necessary  for  tbe  maintenance  of  tbe 
government  and  care  of  those  who  are  willing  to  serve 
that  government  in  any  capacity.  Finance  is  by  name 
familiar  to  us  all  and  each  of  us  doubtless  considers 
himself  tbe  fittest  man  to  provide  for  tbe  wants  of  a 
nation  as  it  only  requires  tbe  recommendation  of  tbe 
chief  of  tbe  Exchequer  to  obtain  tbe  general  approval 
and,  when  obtained,  success  is  certain,  as  it  follows 
of  course  that  u  wliat  every  body  does  must  be  right.” 
To  our  Secretary,  tbe  recommendations  in  bis  report 
last  winter,  are  doubtless  to  be  credited ;  and  bis  then 
distinct  condemnation  of  tbe  issue  of  paper  money  by 
the  government  was  tbe  result  of  bis  matured  opin- 


•=*» 


(3 


ions  on  that  subject,  after  an  incubation  of  nine 
months.  His  discussions  on  the  subject  at  least 
shewed  candor  if  not  a  mastery  of  the  subject,  and 
Ids  conclusions  were  the  condemnation  of  that  position 
which  circumstances  or  the  non-anticipation  of  circum¬ 
stances  afterwards  forced  him  to  adopt.  For  this 
amiability  of  character  the  secretary  is  entitled  to  our 
Fine]  consideration ;  where  can  we  find  another 
instance  on  record  of  an  official  of  high  position  so 
entirely  abandoning  his  own  grounds,  and  so  ardently 
adopting  those  views  lie  had  so  recently  and  positi¬ 
vely  condemned  ?  ’Tis  true  nobility  to  confess  our 
faults  and  turn  from  our  errors.  But  still  more 
strange  and  more  remarkably  magnanimous,  than 
this  sudden  conversion,  is  the  recent  development 
of  the  desire  of  our  worthy  secretary  to  carry  out, 
to  its  fullest  extent,  the  experiment  of  paper  money, 
purely  and  simply ;  as,  by  his  recent  request,  he  asks 
for  authority  to  issue  $150,000,000  more  of  these 
beautiful  pictures  and,  as  if  anticipating  a  still 
very  much  larger  business,  he  proposes  a  manufactory, 
at  the  seat  of  government,  where  he  expects  to  do  the 
work  with  less  cost  to  the  government,  on  account  of 
the  large  amount  to  be  done,  and  with  neatness  and 
despatch.  The  argument,  in  the  present  official  mind, 
for  a  further  issue  of  paper  money,  is  doubtless  based 


7 


upon  arithmetical  progression,  and  the  result  anticipa¬ 
ted,  without  doubt,  is  as  surely  relied  upon,  for  how 
could  it  be  otherwise;  if  $150,000,000  have  done  much 
unexpected  good,  twice  that  sum  would  doubtless  in 
compound  proportion  increase  our  felicity,  until,  if  only 

the  wai*  will  continue  and  thus  find  a  demand  for  this 

• 

sort  of  money,  every  hamlet  will  become  practically 
acquainted  with  finance  and  admiringly  see  how  much 
easier  it  is  for  people  to  pay  their  debts  with  promises 
than  with  vulgar  realities,  and  particularly  when 
these  pretty  etchings  are  made  on  the  premises  and 
can  be  turned  out  to  any  amount.  What  chancellor 
of  the  Exchequer,  before  this  eventful  period  blessed 
us  with  our  present  incumbent,  ever  discovered  that 
the  shadow  was  equal  to  the  substance  or,  if  con¬ 
vinced  himself,  ever  expected  the  people  to  believe 
it  \  That  we  may  be  the  more  sensible  of  the  skill 
with  which  our  finances  have  been  managed,  and  of 
the  plentiful  supply  of  money  that  we  are  likely  to 
have  for  the  future,  (as  indicated  by  this  last  develop¬ 
ment,)  it  will  be  as  well  to  review  the  aide  report  of 
December  1861 ,  of  our  Financial  Colossus.  In  speaking 
of  the  issue  of  demand  notes  payable  in  coin  on  de¬ 
mand,  I  find  as  follows. 

“  The  plan,  however,  is  not  without  inconvenience 
“  and  hazard.  The  temptation,  especially  in  times  of 


8 


„  pressure  and  danger,  to  issue  notes  ivithout  adequate 
“  provision  for  redemption,”  (fee.  (fee. ;  further,  “  The 
“  risk  of  a  depreciated  and  depreciating  and  finally 
“  worthless  paper  money,  the  innumerable  evils  of  dis- 
“  honored  public  faith  and  national  bankruptcy  ;  all 
u  these  are  possible  consequences  of  the  adoption  of  a 
“  system  of  government  circulation.  It  may  be  said, 
“  and  perhaps  truly,  that  they  are  less  deplorable  than 
“  those  of  an  irredeemable  bank  circulation ;  without 
“  entering  into  that  comparison  the  secretary  contents 
“  himself  with  observing  that  in  his  judgment  these 
“  possible  disasters  so  far  outweigh  the  probable  bene- 
a  fits  of  the  plan,  that  he  feels  himself  constrained  to 
“  forbear  recommending  its  adoption.”  I  also  find  in 
the  honorable  secretary’s  report  as  follows :  “  The  cir- 
“  dilation  of  the  Banks  of  the  United  States  on  the 
“  1st  January,  1861,  was  computed  to  be  $202,000,767 ; 
“  of  this  circulation,  $150,000,000  in  round  numbers, 
“  was  in  States  now  loyal,  including  West  Virginia,  and 
“  $50,000,000  in  rebellious  States,”  (fee.,  (fee. 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  you  will  see  with  what 
thoroughness  matters  have  been  investigated.  The 
entire  bank  circulation  has  been  ascertained  even  to 
that  seven  hundred  and  sixty-seven  and  odd,  and  it  was 
at  that  time  decided  that  it  was  not  even  safe  to  displace 
that  $202,000,767  of  Bank  Currency,  and  replace  it  by 


9 


United  States  currency,  payable  on  demand  in  coin, 
for  fear  of  depreciation,  &c.,  fee, ;  but  to  show  an  entire 
freedom  of  thought  as  well  as  of  action,  and  our  total 
indifference  to  our  own  opinions,  our  Secretary,  finding 
his  own  plans  too  difficult  to  carry  out  and  still  wish¬ 
ing  the  country  to  retain  his  valuable  services,  did 
what  many  other  chancellors  of  the  exchequer  have 
done  before,  that  is,  not  being  aide  to  carry  out  his 


own  views,  adopted  those  of  others,  and  is  now  run¬ 
ning  riot  with  the  people,  and  seems  inclined  to  make 
matters  as  easy  as  possible,  so  long  as  paper  money 
will  accomplish  the  object ;  such  a  course  may  be 
amiable  and  gain  applause  for  the  moment,  and  if  it 
should  turn  out  that  he  has  not  made  some  slight 

o 

mistakes,  he  may  yet  prove  a  great  financier ;  in  fact, 
some  of  the  papers  say  he  is  already ;  but  what  think 
you?  has  he  not,  by  the  desire  to  issue  another  $150,- 
000,000  say  $300,000,000  in  all,  and  may  be  $600,- 
000,000  or  more  as  the  contemplated  establishment  of 
a  manufactory  at  Washington  indicates,  adopted  too 


much  of  the  science  and  discarded  on  the  other  hand 
too  much  of  the  realities  of  finance  ;  of  course,  I  do  not 
pretend  to  say  he  is  not  right,  nor,  as  an  outsider,  do  I 
pretend  to  know  or  have  a  right  to  know  anything,  but 
in  contrasting  our  Secretary’s  own  figures,  matters  look 
a  little  queer  to  my  unofficial  vision — as  for  instance, 


On  $202,000,767  prior  to  the  War,  we  did  a  very  large 
and  good  business,  we  have  issued  $150,000,000  as  a 
financial  war  measure,  and  the  banks  have  out  their 
full  previous  circulation,  and  seem  also  vieing  to  emu¬ 
late  their  uncle,  and  to  all  this  must  we  add  the  other 
$150,000,000,  asked  for  by  our  Secretary?  If  it  must 
1)6  so,  dear  friends,  there  is  no  mistake  about  it,  we  are 
going  to  have  a  jolly  time.  If  our  Secretary  shall 
throw  out  every  few  days  an  additional  $150,000,000 
of  demand  notes,  the  crop  of  money  this  year  promises 
to  he  as  plentiful  as  strawberries,  which,  it  is  well 
known,  are  exceedingly  abundant  this  season,  and  be¬ 
fore  we  get  through,  the  money,  we  are  likely  to  have, 
will  be  just  as  cheap ;  therefore,  do  not  give  yourselves 
any  anxiety,  the  country  is  safe,  only  consider,  how¬ 
ever,  if  one  little  modification  of  the  programme  would 
not  possibly  tend  to  give  a  little  more  stability  to  our 
financial  movements  for  the  future.  Is  not  paper 
better  used  as  an  “  eccentric  ”  to  the  financial  engine, 
than  as  the  “  shaft  ”  to  drive  the  whole  fabric  ?  Is  it 
not  possible  to  issue  too  much  paper  notwithstanding 
the  issue  of  some  has  answered  well  ?  An  addition  of 
$150,000,000  of  paper  money  to  a  previous  aggregate 
of  $202,000,767  of  circulation,  which  latter  was  alone 
deemed  sufficient  before  the  war,  and  with  much  larger 
commercial  transactions  then  than  now,  causes  the  com- 


11 


pound  amount  to  'appear,  to  my  moderate  compre¬ 
hension,  to  be  almost  sufficient  financial  stimulant; 
wherefore  is  it  not  worthy  of  consideration  whether 
this  second  $150,000,000  proposed  by  our  worthy 
Secretary  may  not  make  us  drunk?  If,  to  the  astute 
minds  of  our  financial  Solons,  an  excess  of  money  will 
force  investments  in  United  States  stocks,  I  would 
beg  to  suggest  that  such  logic  might  fail  in  its  general 
application  ;  in  some  cases,  on  account  of  the  inability 
of  people  to  make  long  investments,  in  others  through 
delay  in  expectation,  by  waiting,  to  get  the  last  edition, 
“  as  newspapers  are  bought,”  and  thus  secure  the 
handsomest  and  newest,  and  may  be  the  cheapest 
notes,  for,  according  to  all  previous  experience,  as 
things  get  plentiful  they  do  get  cheaper.  Has  it  oc¬ 
curred  to  you,  that  the  more  economical  plan  for  the 
nation  would  be  to  make  United  States  stocks  a  srood 


security,  based  upon  the  sure  payment  of  interest  by 
taxes,  and  thus  induce  people  to  invest  in  them,  be¬ 
cause  they  believed  them  good,  rather  than  be  forced 
to  invest  in  them  because  they  were  considered  less 
worthless  than  the  demand  notes  are  likely  to  become  ? 
I,  among  others,  fully  believe  in  and  approve  the 
issue  of  an  amount  of  paper  by  the  government,  if  ju¬ 
diciously  done,  but  rather  less  than  in  excess  of  enough, 
as  it  is  no  easy  matter  to  draw  back  when  once  put 


out,  or  to  raise  it  in  public  estintation  when  once  dis¬ 
graced.  Whereas  a  proved  deficiency  can  always  be 
corrected,  so  lone;  as  engravers  can  be  had.  Is  not 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  per  cent,  in¬ 
crease  of  circulation,  in  less  than  six  months,  rather 
more  than  even  our  enterprise  can  manage  judiciously  ? 

Those  wild  animals  the  Bulls  and  Bears  no  doubt 
hold  contrary  opinions  on  this  and  many  other  subjects 
and  give  themselves  but  little  anxiety  so  long  as  they 
are  well  fed  and  well  treated,  but  our  Bulls  will  not 
like  to  see  what  they  term  “  fancy  stock  ”  so  fall,  in 
public  estimation,  as  to  become  unsaleable,  through  de 
fault  of  dividends,  and  become  forced  out  of  market 
entirely,  as  people  may  be  compelled  to  invest  in 
government  securities  to  secure  an  income  to  live  on  ; 
for,  with  this  plethora  of  paper  money,  many  will 
have  to  provide  for  an  increase  of  revenue,  because 
everything  will  be  so  very  dear,  that  none  will 
have  money  to  invest  in  unproductive  securities  except 
at  a  very  low  price.  The  Bears,  on  the  other  hand, 
might  look  upon  such  a  state  of  affairs  with  compla¬ 
cency  till  perhaps  the  Bulls  were  no  more  and  the 
Bears  had  exhausted  their  paws. 

That  hateful  word,  Taxes,  is,  my  dear  friends,  after  all, 
the  stumbling  block,  and  it  is  the  most  earnest  desire 
of  your  representatives  to  please  you  that  prevents 


them  from  taxing  such  interests  as  will  yield  the  surest 
and  most  economical  revenue.  Your  representatives 
do  not  wish,  by  any  act  of  theirs,  to  run  the  risk  of 
being  prevented  from  serving  you  in  the  thirty-eighth 
Congress  and  for  that  reason  they  hesitate  to  tax  you. 

It  will,  I  fear,  require  some  encouragement  from 
you  that  they  shall  be  retained  in  the  service,  before 
they  can  bring  themselves  to  the  revolting  idea  of  tax¬ 
ing  the  very  people  who  have  bestowed  upon  them 
their  places,  and  through  whose  kindness  they  get 
their  $3,000  per  annum,  beside  their  being  under  the 
grateful  sense  of  favors  vet  to  be  realized.  Each  mem- 

o  t J 

ber,  you  will  see,  seems  willing  to  tax  another  mem¬ 
ber’s  district,  but  for  his  own  peculiar  locality  any 
particular  tax  seems  hardly  applicable.  In  looking 
over  the  tax  bill,  it  is  apparent  that  articles  of  large 
and  general  consumption  escape  with  a  very  slight  no¬ 
tice,  while  certain  interests  in  our  city  are  very  heavi¬ 
ly  burdened,  and  will  be  almost  annihilated.  A  mer 
chant’s  business  appears  to  be  trammeled,  in  innumer¬ 
able  ways,  and  with  more  of  a  desire  to  derange  busi¬ 
ness  than  to  collect  revenue,  and  my  beloved  city  is 
made  to  bear  almost  the  entire  burden  of  the  Tax  Bill, 
as  if  already  she  had  not  placed  her  entire  resources 
at  the  command  of  the  government.  Pig  iron,  you 
will  notice,  is  not  considered  a  “  manufacture,”  and  es-  • 


14 


capes  taxation,  but  Townsend’s  Sarsaparilla,  and  arti¬ 
cles  of  that  kind,  are  exemplar  ily  taxed.  Beer,  anoth¬ 
er  article  of  considerable  familiarity  with  our  taxable 
citizens,  is  let  off  with  an  excise  of  one  dollar  per  bar¬ 
rel  of  31  gallons,  or  say  one  quarter  cent  per  glass. 
This  article,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind,  is  consumed  un¬ 
der  pleasant  emotions,  and  it  would  appear  to  me  that 
a  confirmed  admirer  of  the  hop  beverage  would  much 
prefer  contributing  his  ratio  of  tax  through  the  medi¬ 
um  of  his  “  Lager,”  than  to  have  his  home  searched  by 
his  “  Uncle’s”  clerk  to  ascertain  if  he  was  the  possessor 
of  Brandreth’s  pills  or  other  alteratives.  The  much- 
loved  article  of  Whisky,  also,  may  be  considered  a 
specially  favored  interest,  and  must,  I  conclude,  be  in 
good  repute  in  all  congressional  districts,  as  no  mem¬ 
ber  seems  inclined  to  permit  the  article  to  be  oppres¬ 
sively  dealt  by ;  for  the  low  tax  of  20  cents  per  gallon 
seems  very  generally  approved  by  our  legislators,  and 
by  computation  it  will  be  seen  that  this  is  equivalent 
to  one  third  of  a  cent  per  glass ;  or  as  it  takes  about 
two  glasses  of  “  Red  Eye”  to  one  drunk,  it  requires 
an  individual  to  contribute  just  two  thirds  of  a  cent 
to  Uncle  Samuel’s  support  to  be  quite  happy  and  ele¬ 
vated  ;  certainly,  at  this  rate,  taxation  will  not  inter¬ 
fere  with  some  pleasures.  That  inestimable  narcotic, 
Tobacco,  also,  has  the  kindly  consideration  of  our 


representatives  as  indeed  it  deserved,  tor  both  repre¬ 
sentatives  and  constituents  are  probably  personally 
interested  in  it  to  a  greater  extent  than  even  Whiskey  ; 
but  would  it  not  be  well  to  consider  if  a  little  heavier 
contribution  for  the  preservation  of  its  nationality 
might  be  afforded  ?  As  the  Tax  now  stands  it  may  be 
cyphered  out  as  follows,  say  20c.  per  lb.,  or  1  l-4c.  per 
paper  on  fine  cut,  or  say  not  quite  two-fifths  of  a  mill 
per  chew.  Might  it  not  possibly  taste  better  (at  least 
to  the  true  patriot )  if  the  happy  consumer,  when  part 
ing  with  his  saliva,  knew  that  at  the  same  time  he 
was  also  more  liberally  contributing  to  Uncle’s  sup¬ 
port  than  at  the  rate  of  20c.  per  lb.,  thus  combining 
pleasure  with  duty? 

In  the  way  of  suggestion,  how  would  it  answer, 
friends,  for  our  Uncle  to  intrust  the  State  Authorities 


with  the  collection  of  his  taxes?  it  might  save  us  from 


the  acquaintance  of  many  inquiring  friends  in  the 
shape  of  Federal  tax-gatherers,  and  possibly  might  be 
done  with  but  little  additional  expense,  as  the  State 
has  already  its  tax  machinery.  It  would,  I  know,  dis¬ 
appoint  many  who  are  expecting  to  serve  the  govern¬ 
ment,  but  doubtless  they  will  become  reconciled,  as 
this  is  an  age  of  abnegation.  As  to  Tariff  I  will  speak 
with  you  another  day,  though  I  would  if  I  were  secre¬ 
tary  raise  it  before  all  the  specie  was  gone.  Though 


16 


it  maybe  tliat  our  secretary  is  waiting  ’till  the  merchants 
are  compelled  to  import,  and  then  raise  the  Tariff  and 
catch  them  on  the  voyage,  which,  would  be  almost 
equal  to  the  late  negotiation  of  7  30s.  for  specie,  which 
the  papers  say  was  entirely  successful. 

In  conclusion  I  beg  you  will  remember  that,  so  long 
as  you  do  not  get  too  many,  the  demand  notes  are  just 
what  you  want,  but,  when  you  do  get  too  many  of 
them,  they  will  be  just  what  you  do  not  want,  as  is 
proved  by  the  old  adage  of  utoo  much  of  a  good  thing 
so  you  had  better  write  to  your  representatives  not  to 
be  too  lavish  in  putting  out  these  documentary  eviden¬ 
ces  of  money,  but  to  tax  Iron,  Whisky,  Beer,  Coal, 
Tobacco  and  various  articles  of  large  consumption 
much  higher  than  they  propose,  and  to  make  all  taxes 
as  simple  as  possible  and  on  as  few  articles  as  possible 
and  farm  out  the  collection  of  them  to  the  States  if  it 
be  practicable  and  thus  save  20  per  cent  in  the  collec¬ 
tion,  besides  the  insolence  of  new  Hedged  officials ; 
also  tell  them  that  they  seem  thus  far  to  have  over¬ 
looked.  the  landed  interest  which  possibly  might  not 
wish  to  be  entirely  excluded  from  the  Tax  Bill.  Asa 
last  word  I  would  also  beg  to  suggest  that  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury’s  plea  of  necessity  is  no  valid  excuse 
for  his  springing  upon  us  this  last  $150,000,000,  of 
legal  tender  as  if  lie  had  neglected  his  duty  to  make 


17 


provision  for  the  future  during  tlie  last  six  months ; 
he  ought  to  yield  up  his  financial  Ghost  and  not  in 
attempting  to  manage  what  he  does  not  understand 
render  our  future  existence  intolerable.  I  would  also 
remark  that,  if  the  periodical  issue  of  paper  money 
without  security  be  the  proper  management  of  the 
finances  of  a  great  Nation,  it  might  be  that  a  lawyer 
of  less  distinguished  ability  at  a  lower  price  could  be 
employed  to  make  these  timely  suggestions  in  the 
place  of  the  present  able  incumbent. 

I  remain  as  ever  your  most  devoted  friend, 


GREEN-BACK. 


